Reborn in 1950: Shorting the Federal Reserve at the Start

Shen Jinghong walked to the octagonal table.

He didn't sit down, but instead placed his hands on the edge of the table, leaning forward slightly, like a mountain about to collapse, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression as he looked down at the three usually imposing old men in front of him.

"What did that old man just say? 'Of all virtues, filial piety is the most important'?"

Shen Jinghong smiled, but her eyes looked at him as if he were the most ridiculous clown in the world. "You're saying I'm heartless? Saying I don't care about my family's well-being?"

Yi Zhonghai felt uneasy under his gaze, but he still forced a smile and slammed his teacup down heavily.

"Isn't that right? Look at what your parents are wearing, and then look at yourself in that trench coat! Your brother doesn't even have a place to live when he gets married, that's just selfish of you!"

"Selfish? What a selfish thing to do."

Shen Jinghong suddenly stood up straight, her voice rising instantly like a thunderclap:

"Since we're going to settle accounts, let's do it properly!"

He stretched out one hand, spread his five fingers, and waved it in the air.

"For the past five years, I've lived frugally in the US, sending fifty dollars home every month. Five years, that's three thousand dollars! At the current black market exchange rate, that's over ten thousand yuan!"

These words caused an uproar in the room.

More than 10,000 yuan?

In those days when a worker's monthly salary was only twenty or thirty yuan, ten thousand yuan was an astronomical figure! That could buy ten such courtyard houses!

The neighbors stared wide-eyed at Shen Dayong and his wife, their sympathy instantly turning into suspicion.

"Where's the money?"

Shen Jinghong whirled around, her gaze sharp as lightning, fixed on Shen Yaozu's deathly pale face. "Shen Yaozu, tell everyone, where's the money? It's ten thousand yuan! That's enough for you to live on for the rest of your lives, even if you ate dragon meat every day! Why are you trying to take my house now?"

"I...I..."

Shen Yaozu was sweating profusely, his eyes darting around, and he couldn't utter a coherent sentence for a long time.

"If he can't say it, I'll say it for him!"

Shen Jinghong sneered and ruthlessly tore away the veil of pretense:

"Is all the money in that underground casino under the overpass? And it's not just my money; he also stole the house deed to pawn it. If my mother hadn't used her savings to redeem it, this house would have been owned by someone else long ago!"

"Whoosh—!"

The crowd erupted in chaos.

So this is what they call a "good son"? This is the second son the Shen family said was "just unlucky"? Turns out he's a gambling addict!

"You...you're talking nonsense!"

Like a mad dog whose tail has been stepped on, Liu Cuihua jumped up and tried to cover Shen Jinghong's mouth, shouting, "Don't wash your dirty linen in public! You're trying to drive your brother to his death!"

"Force him to his death? He's the one who wants to drain my blood!"

Shen Jinghong slapped Liu Cuihua's hand away and pointed to the figure huddled in the corner, thin as a skeleton—that was his younger sister, Shen Zhaodi.

"You keep saying it's for the sake of this family. But what about Zhao Di? She's only twelve years old, so thin she's not even as tall as a seven or eight-year-old! In the dead of winter, she's wearing only thin trousers, and her hands are covered in chilblains!"

Shen Jinghong strode over, grabbed Shen Zhaodi, and raised her small hands, covered in scars and frostbite, high in front of everyone.

"Look! Everyone, take a look!"

"This is the 'loving father and mother' you speak of! You use my hard-earned money to support that gambling-addicted son, yet you let your own daughter eat moldy cornbread and sleep in a drafty kitchen! Is this your 'family tradition'?"

Shen Zhaodi trembled with fear, tears streaming down her face, but she dared not cry out loud. She could only look at her brother with her terrified eyes.

The neighbors fell silent.

All the voices criticizing Shen Jinghong had disappeared. Looking at those shocking little hands, many middle-aged women couldn't help but tear up and turned to point and whisper about the Shen couple.

"That's so cruel..."

"Exactly! Using his eldest son's money to support a gambling addict and abusing his daughter—is he even human?"

Public opinion shifted instantly.

Yi Zhonghai's face turned green as he watched the out-of-control scene. He hadn't expected Shen Jinghong to be holding so many "bombs." If this continued, what would become of his authority as an elder?

"Ahem! Um... Jinghong."

Yi Zhonghai stood up, forcing himself to remain calm, and tried to smooth things over. "Well, there might be some misunderstanding. After all, parents are never wrong. Your brother may be confused, but he only made a mistake for a moment. As the eldest brother, you are more capable, so it's only right that you take more responsibility."

"Should someone with great ability take on more responsibility?"

Shen Jinghong turned around, looked at Yi Zhonghai, and his smile became unusually sinister. "Uncle, you've really got a way with words. Since you're so enlightened and so particular about 'helping others'..."

He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, his voice full of mockery:

"You have no children, earn only eighty or ninety yuan a month, and live in two large main rooms. Isn't that a waste? Shen Yaozu is also a junior in this courtyard. Why don't you be generous and transfer your house to Shen Yaozu as a wedding home? Or give him your salary card to manage?"

"Since no one will be there to see you off after you pass away, how about we have Yaozu break the basin for you?"

"puff--"

Someone in the crowd couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Yi Zhonghai's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red, his beard trembling with rage. He pointed a finger at Shen Jinghong, "You...you're just spouting nonsense! What utter rubbish!"

"What? You feel pain now that you've cut yourself?"

Shen Jinghong's smile vanished instantly, replaced by an icy expression. "Giving away other people's money, you're quite the player. Trying to morally blackmail me? Sorry, I have no morals. What are you trying to blackmail me for!"

"You! You unfilial son!"

Shen Dayong, who had been silent all along, finally exploded.

He felt as if his old face had been stripped off in public by his eldest son, thrown on the ground and stomped on. The shame and indignation made him lose his mind.

"I'll beat you to death, you ungrateful wretch!"

Shen Dayong grabbed the jujube wood cane beside him and, with all his might, smashed it down hard on Shen Jinghong's head with a whistling sound.

If that hits hard, it'll definitely cause a bloody head injury.

"Ah!" the timid neighbor exclaimed.

however.

"Snapped!"

A muffled thud.

The expected scene of bloodshed did not occur.

The cane, which had come so aggressively, stopped abruptly less than three inches from Shen Jinghong's forehead.

A long, slender, fair hand firmly grasped the other end of the cane.

Shen Jinghong held his cane firmly in one hand, motionless. He looked at Shen Dayong, who was panting heavily and whose face was flushed, his eyes devoid of any warmth, only endless indifference.

"Hit me? You dare to challenge me?"

Shen Jinghong's wrist suddenly jerked.

A clever force traveled through the cane, and Shen Dayong felt a numbness in his hand, unable to hold on. He staggered back several steps and fell to the ground, landing on his backside.

The entire room fell silent.

Everyone was stunned by what they saw.

In this era that emphasizes the traditional father-son relationship, it is considered extremely disrespectful for a son to lay a hand on his father. Yet, looking into Shen Jinghong's cold eyes, not a single person dared to utter a word of condemnation.

"Now that we've broken through this barrier, let's stop pretending."

Shen Jinghong casually tossed the cane he had snatched aside, making a crisp sound.

He pulled out a neatly folded A4 sheet of paper from his pocket.

That was something he had printed out in the system space; it was also the last gift he had prepared for this distorted family relationship.

"Snapped!"

He slammed the paper down on the octagonal table, making all the teacups on it jump.

"Open your dog eyes and see clearly!"

Shen Jinghong's voice echoed in the courtyard, each word resounding:

"This is how I've given this family my due!"